Dish Network’s Blame WWE campaign worked about as well as the same tactic did during its AMC negotiations. After skipping WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and threatening not to show Wrestlemania, Dish has decided it will air pro wrestling’s Super Bowl. It’s the biggest wrestling event of the year and should earn Dish a huge amount of revenue. The WWE network streaming venture will cut into that some, but half of a couple million dollars is better than none of it. Plus, there are still concerns about whether the fledgling network can handle all the viewers at once. Wrestlemania will be its biggest test. If it doesn’t pass, Dish could get a lot of customers right back. Should the broadcast go off seamlessly, that’s only going to shrink Dish’s pool of money. This could be the last big WWE pay-per-view payday for Dish.

Dish will evaluate other WWE PPVs as they come around. If it’s going to continue picking and choosing, I’d bet it airs WWE’s “Big Four,” the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania and SummerSlam. It aired the Royal Rumble this year and will air Wrestlemania 30 on April 6.

The satellite provider tried to rally customers to its cause, which as I mentioned, never works. Viewers don’t care which multi-billion dollar corporation is in the wrong, we just want to watch our favorite shows. What did Dish expect, for WWE to unlaunch the network?

Also, while other providers threatened to stop carrying pay-per-views none actually did. Dish namedropped DirecTV in its last press release as another company considering it. When April 6 came, Dish was going to be on that island all alone. Cable companies realize customers are cutting the cord. WWE is the first TV show to offer its viewers an opportunity like this, but it certainly won’t be the last.